Heat provide Miami flavor to All-Star Game

Chris Bosh's addition to the East's starting lineup made it a Heat majority as he joined LeBron James and Dwyane Wade for the opening tip.

Chris Bosh's addition to the East's starting lineup made it a Heat...

Despite their loss to West, the 2013 NBA All-Star Game didn't feel much like a defeat for the East's LeBron James and his Miami Heat teammates. Even having his shots blocked by Kobe Bryant didn't sour the mood for King James.

"It was awesome," Bosh said of the chance to start the All-Star Game with his teammates. "Awesome. It was really awesome."

Boos for Bosh

Bosh even had a nice chuckle when the crowd of 16,101 booed him late in the first half when he conceded an easy layup to eventual All-Star Game MVP Chris Paul, who might have been forced to lob a pass to the Clippers' Blake Griffin if Bosh had not backed away.

The crowd clearly wanted to see Paul set up one of Griffin's monster dunks. The folks at Toyota Center definitely got their wish late, though, when the Lakers' Kobe Bryant took it upon himself to guard James.

"I don't know if it was signature (defense)," Bryant said. "I'm known for my defense. I can defend. I'm pretty smart with my defense."

Bryant eventually blocked three of James' shots and taunted him with "a little bit of everything," James said.

"He wasn't trash talking," James said. "It was all in good spirit. It was just two guys that love to compete and love to go at it. It was a lot of fun."

Bosh finished 0-for-3 from 3-point range, and the crowd let him have it after he shot two airballs.

Conversely, Wade was 5-of-5 in the second quarter and finished 10-of-13.

"I know I've got to make the best of my shots in these All-Star games," Wade said. "You just try to come out and enjoy yourself. That's what I did tonight, got an opportunity to get a couple of highlights with some of the guys and just had an opportunity to enjoy my life as an All-Star."

Unpopular lineup call

Some fans questioned the decision to start Bosh, but his coach made no apologies.

"That's an easy decision," Spoelstra said. "My loyalties are with the Heat."

Spoelstra's players are ready to repay his loyalty once the scores really matter and the chase for another title picks up.

"We're the best team in the league," Bosh said. "We have to make our run to start our title (defense). We have everybody intact. Everybody's comfortable. We just have to continue to work on our chemistry."

James agrees.

"We want to continue to play our game," James said. "We want to continue to get better each and every game and not waste an opportunity when we get on the floor and play as a team. If we do that, we'll be OK."